The erosion process of an EDM machine takes place at any point where the tool electrode and workpiece have a sufficiently narrow machining gap.
It is known that by supplementing the primary motion between the tool and the workpiece with a secondary relative movement, such as a transverse movement, it is in some cases possible to reduce the number of electrodes required for some machining operations. Furthermore, it is then also possible to produce certain complex geometries by using only electrodes of a relatively simple geometry.
It is also known that by deflecting the process-controlled primary movement of an EDM machine to a secondary relative movement direction, the secondary relative movement can conveniently be also process-controlled by the already existing control mechanisms.
It is a problem with presently available apparatus of the type described above that it is relatively bulky and because it in many instances requires the attachment of additional, auxiliary devices, is difficult to adapt for the machining of complex geometries, particularly complex geometries which are to be reproduced with the use of relatively simple electrodes.